I was saddened to read of the passing of former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, who died yesterday from colon cancer at the age of 76.
Aquino brought an end to the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and brought democracy to her country for the first time in almost 30 years. While a former housewife with no political experience kicking Marcos out of power was improbable, it was easy compared to actually running the country. Marcos had looted it for all it was worth, and much work had to be done. Aquino was frequently not up to this task, sad to say, but it didn’t matter: democracy had at long last taken root in the Philippines.
As a sailor I visited the Philippines during her time as president and was proud to see the Filipino people finally having a voice in running their country. She will be missed.